Sudden exit of Cleveland Museum of Art's head recalls 2008 episode

In light of Monday night's stunning news that Cleveland Museum of Art director David Franklin resigned effective immediately, events from the summer of 2008 with Dr. Franklin's previous employer — the National Gallery of Canada — seem somewhat prescient.
There's now a pattern of sudden departures in the career of Dr. Franklin, who stated in the Cleveland Museum of Art's news release about his departure that he had concluded “it's time to spend more time on research and writing.”
A July 3, 2008, Ottawa Citizen story called attention to what became a much buzzed-about dispute in the Canadian arts community involving Dr. Franklin. It began this way:
“The National Gallery of Canada is in turmoil following the mysterious disappearance of David Franklin, the deputy director and chief curator who was in the midst of organizing two blockbuster exhibitions, including the gallery's main show for 2009,” that story began.
No reason was given at the time for the leave of absence, and there was no hint about a date of return, according to the Ottawa Citizen story.
A New York Timesstory from Dec. 29, 2008, filled in the details and described just how messy things got between Dr. Franklin and Pierre Théberge, who at the time was preparing to end his 11-year tenure as director of the National Gallery.
From The Times story:
The chain of events has included the dismissal of David Franklin, the gallery's deputy director and curator; the filing of a lawsuit by Dr. Franklin and his subsequent rehiring; the release of a series of unusually vitriolic internal e-mail messages; court filings that discuss the gallery's “toxic” working atmosphere; and finally the appointment of a new director who takes over next month.
Throughout the conflict Mr. Théberge, 66, who was once mainly seen by the public as an eccentric who brought his terriers to work, has faced allegations from Dr. Franklin, 47, that he is “medically unfit” for his job.
In April 2008, The Times noted, Dr. Franklin dismissed Erika Dolphin, assistant curator of European and American art, along with “eight other people in what he described in a court filing as a cost-cutting move.”
Ms. Dolphin's union challenged the dismissal and emails about it. But Dr. Franklin, The Times said, “was unusually methodical about deleting e-mail messages,” essentially triple-deleting them. Disagreements between the museum and Dr. Franklin over the deleted emails led to his June 11, 2008, dismissal for what the museum called “just cause.”
Dr. Franklin sued to recover his job and “argued that the accusations about his e-mail deletions, which are the subject of a federal investigation with the potential for criminal charges, were merely a pretext to remove him as a challenger to Mr. Théberge,” whose term as director expired on Jan. 4, 2009, according to The Times.
Eventually, Dr. Franklin was reinstated at the National Gallery, and he continued to serve there without further incident.

An 'unfortunate situation'

In thisOttawa Citizen story from Aug. 28, 2010, upon the news of his hiring as director of the Cleveland museum, Dr. Franklin said he regretted the battle with Mr. Théberge and the messiness of legal action, but took solace in the outcome.
“It was an unfortunate situation, but it was the catalyst also for the gallery to work on all manner of polices for electronic information storage and retention, and for staff to get training so that basically that could never happen again,” Dr. Franklin told the Ottawa paper then. “So I think it had a very positive outcome in terms of the climate at the museum.”
In thisPlain Dealer story about his hiring in Cleveland, Dr. Franklin characterized the events of that summer as “just a horrible misunderstanding.”
A Cleveland museum spokeswoman quoted in that story told The PD that trustees considered Dr. Franklin's record “in totality, but concluded the news from 2008 was no reflection on his capabilities.”

'This is a plum job'

In a telephone interview today, Oct. 22, August A. Napoli, deputy director and chief advancement officer at the Cleveland Museum of Art, said he could not comment on the 2010 search that led to Dr. Franklin's hiring or any personnel matters related to his tenure.
Dr. Franklin, who has been “retained as a consultant for a period of time in order to insure an orderly transition,” according to the museum, was not at the museum today, Mr. Napoli said. The board is “beginning the process to start work” on finding Dr. Franklin's replacement, he said.
Museum trustee Fred Bidwell, retired executive chairman of national advertising agency JWT/OgilvyAction, has been named by the board to assume the role of interim director until a new director is in place.
Dr. Franklin is the second consecutive director at the Cleveland museum to serve briefly in the job. The previous director, Timothy Rub, left in 2009 after three years at the helm to lead the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Mr. Napoli dismissed the idea that the Cleveland museum's director job might be less appealing to candidates in light of recent turnover.
The museum “has never been in a better position than it is today,” Mr. Napoli said, in light of a $350 million renovation and expansion that has won rave reviews, attendance that is at an 11-year high, and philanthropic support that is at its highest level since 2007.
“This is a plum job,” Mr. Napoli said. He said the museum board expects “an abundance of top-tier, highly qualified candidates” for the director position.